Basketball miracles

Chapter 8 [Double Twenty, A Great Start!]

Xiao Tu's performance wasn't over yet; he continued to score in the third quarter.

With 8 minutes and 33 seconds remaining, James Worthy's mid-range jumper from the left 50-degree angle missed, and Xiao Tu grabbed the offensive rebound. He immediately went up for a dunk, drawing a foul from Bowie, and made both free throws.

Bowie was immediately substituted by the coach for a rest, not because he had three fouls, but because Ramsey could see that he was about to break down. He was hesitant to shoot on offense and made rough moves on defense; his frustration was written all over his face.

Even someone who knows nothing about basketball can see that Xiao Tu and Bao Wei are not in the same league; Xiao Tu's physical presence is overwhelming.

If Bowie hadn't fouled, Xiao Tu would have dunked again. His ability to jump repeatedly is too strong; he bounces up with barely bending his legs. Bowie, despite his height advantage, can only jump less than half a meter in height with consecutive jumps.

Before the game, Bowie was full of confidence in the locker room, eager to make a name for himself. Now, he's being thrashed by lower-drafted rookies from the same draft class, making him question his existence.

He walked to the sidelines and sat down, remaining silent and expressionless. He didn't even reach out to take the towel his teammates offered him.

The cameraman gave him a close-up shot, showing him looking defeated.

The introduction of 201cm power forward Kenny Kyle lowered the center's height and increased mobility.

The Trail Blazers coach had no choice but to make this arrangement; the paint was practically being torn apart by Johnson's drives. Ramsey had intended for Bow to protect the rim and secure defensive rebounds, but he repeatedly missed his man on defense, leaving them with few rebounds and unable to compete with Xiao Tu.

The Lakers continued their pick-and-roll offense, and the Trail Blazers' substitutions couldn't stop them. Kenny had to switch and screen Johnson, otherwise Valentine would just be stuck following Johnson around in the dust.

After switching defenses, Xiao Tu also had a height advantage over Valentine. With 6 minutes and 15 seconds left, he received a pass at the high post, pulled up for a jump shot over Valentine, and scored his 15th point.

He can hit that kind of shot like it's an open shot; the opponent can't even block his vision to interfere.

With 5 minutes and 37 seconds left, Xiao Zhong attempted another three-pointer from the middle of the court. Although he missed, the opportunity had already been created. His release point was high, and Kenny Kyle only slightly interfered.

At 4 minutes and 10 seconds, Xiao Tu made a high-post pull-up jump shot, only slightly interfered with, scoring his 17th point.

Riley stood up and applauded; Xiao Tu had executed his planned tactics perfectly.

Riley felt that Xiao Tu had played exceptionally well today, but little did he know that Xiao Tu's improvement was permanent. Facing the Trail Blazers' loose, non-clutch defense, his shooting percentage must be very high.

At 1 minute and 44 seconds, Xiao Tu grabbed an offensive rebound, faked a pass and then passed it to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who cut in from the right side, assisting the latter to easily score a layup off the backboard.

Xiao Tu is a big threat in the paint. If the opponent doesn't double-team him, he can pull up and dunk. If they do double-team him, there will be open spaces.

After Bowie rested, the Trail Blazers' offense improved, but they couldn't catch up because they couldn't defend.

肖途打满了第三节，个人砍下11分全队最高。他总共8投6中，三分球2中1，罚球4中4，得到17分17篮板1助攻3盖帽。

Unbeknownst to many, Xiao Tu's stats are already approaching 20, and his score has surpassed Magic Johnson's.

Magic Johnson recorded a double-double with 16 points, 3 rebounds, and 15 assists, a truly impressive performance.

During the players' break, many fans were discussing Xiao Tu's jump shot form, saying it looked really cool.

Xiao Tu uses a "double-action shooting" technique, which emphasizes the release height. The shooting motion is from crouching down to jumping to the highest point of the shot. The release speed is slow but the height is high, which requires little space for the shot and is not easily interfered with.

The double-action shot is suitable for forcing a shot against the defense and requires good core strength. Compared to a quick, flicked shot, Xiao Tu prefers a pull-up jumper, but he couldn't do it before crossing over.

The bounce shot is actually more difficult to practice, and finding the right way to generate power takes time. Moreover, the release point of the bounce shot is low, requiring more shooting space compared to the jump shot, and it is easily interfered with under heavy defensive pressure, leading to inaccuracy.

Even Stephen Curry, known for his shooting prowess, had many games later in his career where he didn't score in double digits, and his shooting percentage wasn't as consistent. Xiao Tu, of course, chose a more stylish shooting form; whether he made the shot or not didn't matter, the form itself was a picture-perfect shot.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played for a while in the final quarter. He played intermittently, rested frequently, and had plenty of energy, resulting in extremely high scoring efficiency.

At 10:16, after drawing the defense in the low post, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar passed the ball inside to Xiao Tu, who drove to the basket for a powerful two-handed dunk. Thompson was once again the butcher, pushed aside by Xiao Tu. At 8:32, Abdul-Jabbar missed a hook shot, Xiao Tu grabbed the offensive rebound and missed the putback, but then jumped repeatedly to grab the rebound again, powering up over Thompson for a layup and drawing a foul.

Thompson's fouls, which were directed at the player but not the ball, failed to stop Xiao Tu; his physical attributes are far inferior. Xiao Tu has been playing streetball since childhood, and while he's agile for a big man, physical strength has never been his forte.

Even in terms of agility, Xiao Tu is slightly better than Thompson, and is similar to Magic Johnson, belonging to a generation of players.

He made the free throw, completing a 2+1 play.

Xiao Tu didn't score again after that, but blocked Valentine's layup attempt while helping out under the basket.

He was substituted after playing only 5 minutes in the final quarter. With the Lakers leading by 31 points, they substituted all their starters, and the game entered garbage time.

Riley deliberately called a timeout so that Xiao Tu could enjoy the applause from the audience when he left the stage.

Xiao Tu waved to the fans, smiling broadly. The Trail Blazers are a strong playoff team, and his performance today was outstanding, truly an All-Star performance.

肖途总共出战35分钟，11投8中，三分球2中1，罚球5中5，砍下22分21篮板1助攻4盖帽。他抢了7个前场篮板球，基本都转化成了得分。

His only weakness in this game was his lack of assists; he mostly shot immediately after receiving the ball. He didn't commit any turnovers, handled the ball cleanly and efficiently, and never held the ball for more than 2 seconds.

榜眼秀鲍维共出战33分钟，9投2中，没有罚球，得到4分5篮板1助攻2盖帽，还有3次失误和4次犯规。

Commentator Heinson said, "Sebastian Shaw put up a double-double in his career debut, the best performance of all rookies. Before the game, people were more focused on Sam Bowie's performance, who looked like a bust and was completely outplayed."

Stockton said, "Shaw's defense was also impressive. None of Bowed's four points were scored against him, and Michael Thompson also had a hard time scoring against him one-on-one."

Heinson said, "Rambis will hardly have any opportunities to perform with the Lakers this season. Shaw is better than him in every aspect. He has no offensive firepower off the bench, and he can't put on spectacular dunks and blocks like Shaw."

Stockton said, "Shaw sat down with Magic Johnson after the game, chatting and laughing, which shows he has earned the core's approval. He has perfectly made up for the Lakers' weakness in rebounding in recent seasons."

"He's a number one draft pick, severely underrated in the draft. I think his performance this season will be no worse than Hakeem Olajuwon's, and much better than Michael Thompson and James Worthy."

It's not that the commentators are badmouthing Worthy; he genuinely lacks star quality and was largely invisible during his two seasons with the Lakers. Many Lakers fans now consider Worthy a bust, unable to see anything particularly good about him.

The Lakers coaching staff is now placing greater emphasis on developing Xiao Tu, whose physical attributes far surpass those of Worthy, a fact readily apparent during team training. Xiao Tu is only 18 years old, while Worthy is 23.

Worthy was aware of his changing status on the team, but his unpretentious playing style was hard to change. He quietly scored 14 points today, leaving little impression on the audience.

The Lakers had six players scoring in double figures, with three scoring 20+ points, making them difficult to defend.

魔术师约翰逊出战33分钟，12投7中，罚球6中6，得到20分4篮板17助攻2抢断。

贾巴尔仅出战27分钟，16投11中，罚球3中2，得到24分5篮板3助攻。

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored more points, but Xiao Tu was more eye-catching, with four dunks. Rebounding was also impressive; Xiao Tu looked much more aggressive than Abdul-Jabbar, playing with incredible speed and skill.

The Lakers fans lost interest in watching the game because the substitutes from both sides were playing poorly.

The Lakers have the best roster depth in the league and continue to dominate the Trail Blazers, mainly relying on the 196cm tall Mike McGee for scoring.

The gap in ability between star players and role players is enormous in this era, which is evident in their athleticism. The Trail Blazers' bench is far inferior to their starters; apart from Kenny Kyle, they're just a bunch of average players.

Rambis came on the court with a strong determination to defend Kyle, and he didn't score easily.

The Lakers won 121-86 at home, defeating the Trail Blazers by 35 points and taking a winning start to the season!

(End of this chapter)